Printable area changes in summer of 2021

I have the same design I keep printing with the same settings, and suddenly the same design gives the ‘No Artwork’ error. I even reduced the speeds to the slowest and tried to only do the cut layer, ignoring the engrave layer, and it still doesn’t help to fit. I also tried to move the artwork as well as the acrylic sheet around to no avail. The settings and location and same pdf file used to print! The borders were tight, but it used to print! I exclusively print this one design, which now no longer fits. This seems to be a change in the glowforge backend software which must have happened sometime this summer. There is another post about a month ago that also noticed the same issue with suddenly reduced cutting area, but the issue was closed blaming it on the margin needed to slow down the head, which shouldn’t have changed for his design either. If the reduction in printable area, even at slowest speed, doesn’t resolve, I’ll have to sell the Glowforge and buy another laser cutter. Please restore the printable area to what it used to be. It worked perfectly.

A side note:
The fact that the error is called ‘No Artwork’ when actually the design is too big, is a big red flag on how glowforge manages their software development. This confuses new users all the time and should be an obvious improvement/fix, but it is like that for at least a year. With that in mind, I am very worried that the printable area will keep changing without anyone at glowforge communicating that or even realizing that it is happening.

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If you can post your art here someone else can see if they get the same error - also, post either a screenshot of your GFUI, or a listing of exactly the settings you’re using and we’ll see what’s up.

There was been no change on my machine, and as you’ve noted none (or maybe very few) other folks noticing any change so it’s likely to be something local to your machine.
They did increase speeds a while back so folks who were doing smaller things could make them go faster…that tripped up quite a few folks.

The “no artwork” is an indication that “no artwork” will print, but I can see how one could be confused by that.

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I believe there has been a change in the default and maximum speeds. Faster speeds cause smaller printable areas. Check the speed and see if you can get your original file to print at a slower speed.

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Like I said, I already tried to lower the speeds to the slowest. I did notice one thing that could explain what is going on. I always used the arrow keys to move the artwork around and used to get it into the printable area. It looks like maybe the step size of what one keystroke does might have changed, and/or the printable area. When moving the artwork with the mouse, I just realized I can do smaller adjustments than with the arrow keys on the keyboard, and with that I can fit it again in between going on top or bottom and can print it again. Super glad to be able to continue using the glowforge. The HW is fantastic, just not a fan of the UI. So the issue is resolved, and for others having the same issue, try moving the artwork with the mouse instead of arrow keys if your design is also super close to the limits.

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FYI, the size of the arrow moves changes depending on which zoom level you are at…

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I just learned something new. :fu:

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Good to know. I’ve had files that don’t fit if they’re moved a single step in any direction.

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That issue is what brought me to the glowforge community in the first place. Flashback to my first post:

I had played around with it for a while because I know I had cut the file before but suddenly was having problems get it to fit. The GF community was helpful in catching me back up with the adjustments :slight_smile: glad you got it working!

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Hi @engineer3003 I’m sorry that you ran into trouble with your design running into the No Artwork error as you tried printing. I appreciate the follow up and feedback after adjusting the design placement using the arrow keys.

I saw that the issue has been resolved. I also saw some Community members continuing the discussion after your last response. I’m going to move this to the Everything Else section of our Community. That will allow any conversations with fellow Glowforge owners to continue. If you run into any further trouble, feel free to create a new thread or email us at support@glowforge.com. Thank you!

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